The 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics - Press Release Press Release The Nobel Prize in Physics 2010 Andre Geim, Konstantin Novoselov Press Release 5 October 2010 The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2010 to Andre Geim "for groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene" Graphene – the perfect atomic lattice A thin flake of ordinary carbon, just one atom thick, lies behind this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics. Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov have shown that carbon in such a flat form has exceptional properties that originate from the remarkable world of quantum physics. Graphene is a form of carbon. As a material it is completely new – not only the thinnest ever but also the strongest. As a conductor of electricity it performs as well as copper. As a conductor of heat it outperforms all other known materials. It is almost completely transparent, yet so dense that not even helium, the smallest gas atom, can pass through it. Carbon, the basis of all known life on earth, has surprised us once again.

Geim and Novoselov extracted the graphene from a piece of graphite such as is found in ordinary pencils. Using regular adhesive tape they managed to obtain a flake of carbon with a thickness of just one atom. This at a time when many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. However, with graphene, physicists can now study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties. Graphene makes experiments possible that give new twists to the phenomena in quantum physics. Also a vast variety of practical applications now appear possible including the creation of new materials and the manufacture of innovative electronics. Graphene transistors are predicted to be substantially faster than today’s silicon transistors and result in more efficient computers. Since it is practically transparent and a good conductor, graphene is suitable for producing transparent touch screens, light panels, and maybe even solar cells. When mixed into plastics, graphene can turn them into conductors of electricity while making them more heat resistant and mechanically robust. This resilience can be utilised in new super strong materials, which are also thin, elastic and lightweight. In the future, satellites, airplanes, and cars could be manufactured out of the new composite materials. This year’s Laureates have been working together for a long time now.

Konstantin Novoselov, 36, first worked with Andre Geim, 51, as a PhD-student in the Netherlands. He subsequently followed Geim to the United Kingdom. Both of them originally studied and began their careers as physicists in Russia. Now they are both professors at the University of Manchester. Playfulness is one of their hallmarks, one always learns something in the process and, who knows, you may even hit the jackpot. Like now when they, with graphene, write themselves into the annals of science. Read more about this year's prize Links and Further Reading Andre Geim, Dutch citizen. Born 1958 in Sochi, Russia. Ph.D. 1987 from Institute of Solid State Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Chernogolovka, Russia. Director of Manchester Centre for Meso-science & Nanotechnology, Langworthy Professor of Physics and Royal Society 2010 Anniversary Research Professor, University of Manchester, UK. Konstantin Novoselov, British and Russian citizen. Born 1974 in Nizhny Tagil, Russia. Ph.D. 2004 from Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Professor and Royal Society Research Fellow, University of Manchester, UK. Prize amount: SEK 10 million to be shared equally between the Nobel Laureates. Contact persons: Erik Huss, Press Officer, Phone +46 8 673 95 44, mobile +46 70 673 96 50, erik.huss@kva.se Fredrik All, Editor, Phone +46 8 673 95 63, Mobile +46 70 673 95 63, fredrik.all@kva.se The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, founded in 1739, is an independent organization whose overall objective is to promote the sciences and strengthen their influence in society. The Academy takes special responsibility for the natural sciences and mathematics, but endeavours to promote the exchange of ideas between various disciplines. Share this: To cite this page MLA style: "The 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics - Press Release". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 20 Jan 2017.

< The Nobel Prize in Physics 2010 The Nobel Prize in Physics 2010 Andre Geim, Konstantin Novoselov The Nobel Prize in Physics 2010 Photo: U. Montan Konstantin Novoselov Prize share: 1/2 The Nobel Prize in Physics 2010 was awarded jointly to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov "for groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene" Photos: Copyright © The Nobel Foundation Share this: To cite this page MLA style: "The Nobel Prize in Physics 2010". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 18 Jan 2017. < Celebration for University of Manchester Nobel prize 2010 winners | The University of Manchester Celebration for University of Manchester Nobel prize 2010 winners Celebration for University of Manchester Nobel prize 2010 winners 24 Jan 2011 A day of celebrations will be held on Wednesday 26th January to honour the achievements of Professor Andre Geim and Professor Konstantin Novoselov, 2010 winners of the Nobel prize for Physics.

Professor Andre Geim and Professor Konstantin Novoselov The University of Manchester academics received the award for their pioneering work in 2004 on graphene – the world’s thinnest material. Having received their awards at an official ceremony in Sweden in December, the pair will now be honoured at a special event at which both will give speeches. Held at University Place, the celebrations will be attended by the Astronomer Royal and immediate past President of the Royal Society, Lord Rees, the British Ambassador to Sweden, heads of major UK academic and funding bodies, local leaders and many members, friends and guests of the University. Also attending will be many of the Professors’ colleagues and students eager to celebrate their success. The celebrations will begin at 5.15pm with a reception, followed by a welcome and opening address from Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Manchester. Professor Novoselov, universally known as “Kostya”, will then give a lecture entitled ‘Graphene: Materials in the Flatland’, which will be followed by questions to the two Laureates. Lord Rees will then deliver an address, with a reply from Professor Geim, before Dame Nancy closes the proceedings.

A capacity audience of around 600 people will be attending the occasion, and the speeches will be broadcast live on the University website Dame Nancy said: “This day of celebration will be a fitting tribute to the fantastic achievements of both Andre and Kostya, who have been awarded the highest accolade in the scientific world. “Their work is a wonderful example of a fundamental discovery based on scientific curiosity with major practical, social and economic benefits for society. “I am thrilled to be able to welcome so many people to the University to help celebrate the award of the Nobel prize for Physics, which is an honour not just for the University but for the city of Manchester as well.” Professor Geim said: “I am immensely fortunate to have received incredible support from the University which has given us the time and opportunity to experiment and innovate. “I am lucky enough to work for an employer which puts great emphasis on nurturing and supporting young talent and this has greatly contributed to our success.” Professor Novoselov added: “Since the Nobel prize was awarded, we have been to many ceremonies and events. “Here we have the chance to celebrate with our friends, families and colleagues and we are honoured to be rewarded in this way.

“It would not have been possible to have won the Nobel prize without the support and help of both the University and our colleagues and students, so this is our chance to say thank you to them.” The Nobel Prize was awarded to Professors Geim and Novoselov for “groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene". Graphene is a carbon lattice just one atom thick. It is described as the thinnest possible material you can imagine, with incredible strength and truly unusual electronic properties. Professors Geim and Novoselov have published numerous research papers in prestigious journals such as Science and Nature, which have demonstrated the exquisite properties of graphenel and its potential in novel applications such as ultrafast transistors just one atom thick and sensors that can detect just a single molecule of a toxic gas. This work was made possible by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, which made a very major award for the work, the Royal Society, the Leverhulme Trust and many other significant funders. Notes for editors Images of Professor Geim and Professor Novoselov are available on request. The ceremony will be broadcast live on The University of Manchester website from 5.45pm on Wednesday 26th January.

For media enquiries please contact: Daniel Cochlin Nobel prize for physics goes to Manchester University scientists | Science | The Guardian Nobel prizes Nobel prize for physics goes to Manchester University scientists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov used a block of carbon and some Scotch tape to create graphene, a new material with extraordinary properties Tuesday 5 October 2010 08.10 EDT First published on Tuesday 5 October 2010 08.10 EDT Close This article is 6 years old Britain's latest Nobel prizewinner has warned that cuts to research budgets could force good scientists abroad and damage universities' efforts to recruit from other countries. Konstantin Novoselov, a professor of physics at Manchester University, said the country risks losing senior figures and rising stars in science if funding cuts materialise in the government's spending review. "Without money we won't be able to attract good people here," Novoselov told the Guardian.

"The impact is going to be that good scientists will go abroad, especially the young people." Novoselov, 36, won the 2010 Nobel prize for physics with his colleague, Andre Geim, 51, for creating wafers of carbon that are a single atom thick. Their unusual properties could transform electronics, from solar cells to computers and sensors. Novoselov is the youngest Nobel laureate since 1973. The news that Geim and Konstantin Novoselov had received the 10m Swedish-kronor (£1m) prize was announced today by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Both researchers were born in Russia and collaborated as PhD supervisor and student in the Netherlands before moving to Manchester University, one of Britain's top physics institutes. Geim is regarded as a playful and highly creative physicist who once published a scientific paper that was co-authored by his pet hamster, Tisha . In other work, he proved that it was possible to levitate frogs using magnetic fields. Geim and Novoselov's breakthrough came in a deceptively simple experiment in 2004 that involved a block of carbon and some Scotch tape.

The two used the tape to strip off layers of carbon that were only one atom thick. These thin wafers of carbon, known as graphene , were found to have extraordinary properties. Tests showed the graphene layers were stretchy, as strong as steel and almost completely transparent. They are exceptionally good conductors of heat and electricity, properties that have made graphene one of the most exciting new materials for producing electronic components, from flexible touchscreens to pollution sensors. The wafers can also be used to study some of the more peculiar effects of quantum mechanics. Graphene consists of carbon atoms held together in a lattice like chicken wire. Drawing a pencil across a sheet of paper produces thin sheets of graphite, but Geim and Novoselov were the first to separate these sheets into wafers only a single atom thick. There are around three million sheets of graphene in a millimetre-thick layer of graphite. Novoselov was chatting online to a friend in Holland at 10am this morning when he heard of his award in a phone call from the Nobel committee. "It was quite shocking. Every October someone speculates about this and you learn not to pay attention." Geim encouraged creative experiments at the laboratory, Novoselov said.

"We'd just try crazy things and sometimes they worked and sometimes not. Graphene was one of those that worked from the very beginning. It's such a robust material and all the effects were so pronounced." Despite winning the prize, Novoselov said he was planning to work in other areas of physics and was considering taking a year or two of sabbatical leave. "All this graphene business is very exciting, but we've been doing it a while and we're trying to diversify from it and establish some new directions," he said. "I really like it here and want to do my research in Manchester." Geim said he had not expected the prize and would try not to let the news change his routine. "Having won the Nobel prize, some people sit back and stop doing anything, whereas others work so hard that they go mad in a few years. But I will be going into the office as usual and continuing to work hard and paddle through life as usual. I have lots of research papers to work on at the moment which all need writing up, so I will be carrying on as normal." In previous research, Geim created a super-sticky tape inspired by geckos' feet.

His work on levitating frogs earned him one of the most prestigious spoof prizes in science: an Ig Nobel award. The Nobel committee said of the two scientists in its press release: "Playfulness is one of their hallmarks. With the building blocks they had at their disposal they attempted to create something new, sometimes even by just allowing their brains to meander aimlessly." Dame Nancy Rothwell, vice-chancellor of Manchester University, said: "This is a wonderful example of a fundamental discovery based on scientific curiosity with major practical, social and economic benefits for society." Imran Khan, director of the Campaign for Science and Engineering, said: "The Nobel prizes are a fantastic endorsement of British science. Geim and Novoselov are brilliant examples of foreign scientists who came to the UK because we're a global research hub. But Geim and Novoselov could be the last of their kind if the government presses ahead with its plans to slash investment in science and block talented non-EU migrants from coming here." Brian Cox, a physicist at Manchester University who works on the Large Hadron Collider at Cern near Geneva, said: "I remember when Andrei Geim started at Manchester in 2001.

At that time, UK universities were just beginning to feel the effects of the government's enhanced commitment to science: the mood was optimistic and universities were looking to hire the best young scientists from across the world. "Andrei was such a scientist, and together with Konstantin Novoselov, they have received the highest award in international science for the curiosity-driven discovery of graphene, a material that has the potential to change the world and generate immense economic benefits. This is what UK science is all about – a world-leading success story that must be treasured and supported for the future." This year's recipients of the most prestigious awards in science and literature Published: 6 Oct 2010 Graphene Research - Nobel Physics Prize 2010 | The Mary Sue Graphene Researchers Win 2010 Nobel Physics Prize by Robert Quigley | 9:52 am, October 5th, 2010 Russian-born physicists Konstantin Novoselov and Andre Geim, both faculty members at the University of Manchester, have won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work with graphene , which is an arrangement of carbon consisting of a flat, atom-thick layer in a honeycomb-like lattice.

In 2004, Novoselov and Geim discovered a low-tech but highly effective way to produce graphene flakes: With Scotch tape. By putting tape on a piece of graphite and repeatedly peeling away, you can create a layer of graphene. Now known as the so-called “Scotch tape technique,” according to Dr. Geim, this discovery has had theoretical as well as practical implications: New Scientist reports that it wasn’t previously known that such two-dimensional sheets would be stable. The New York Times on graphene’s unusual, potentially very useful properties: A sheet of it stretched over a coffee cup could support the weight of a truck bearing down on a pencil point. Among its other properties, graphene is able to conduct electricity and heat better than any other known material, and it is completely transparent. Physicists say that eventually it could rival silicon as a basis for computer chips, serve as a sensitive pollution-monitoring material, improve flat screen televisions, and enable the creation of new materials and novel tests of quantum weirdness, among other things.

Novoselov’s and Geim’s Nobel victory is a historic one for them both: The 36-year-old Novoselov is the youngest physics laureate since 1973, and Geim may be the first person ever to win both a Nobel and an Ig Nobel prize. In 2000, Geim snagged the spoof award for levitating a live frog in a magnetic field. Materials breakthrough wins Nobel - BBC News BBC News By Paul Rincon Science reporter, BBC News 5 October 2010 Close share panel Image caption Andre Geim is based at the University of Manchester in the UK Two scientists have shared this year's Nobel Prize for Physics for their "groundbreaking" work on a material with amazing properties. Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, both at Manchester University, UK, took the prize for research on graphene. Graphene is a flat sheet of carbon just one atom thick; it is almost completely transparent, but also extremely strong and a good conductor of electricity. Its unique properties mean it could have a wide array of practical uses.

The researchers, along with several collaborators, were the first to isolate the layers of carbon from the material graphite, which is used in pencil "lead". The breakthrough could lead to the manufacture of innovative electronics, including faster computers, according to the Nobel Prize Foundation. "I'm fine, I slept well. I didn't expect the Nobel Prize this year," said Professor Geim. He was talking over a telephone line to journalists assembled at a news conference in Stockholm, Sweden. Prof Geim said his plans for the day would not change - he said he would go back to work and carry on with his research papers. "In my opinion, there are several categories of Nobel prize winners. There are those who, after getting the Nobel Prize, stop doing anything for the rest of their lives, which is a big disservice for their community," he said. "There is another type of person who thinks that other people think they won the Nobel Prize by accident. So they start working even harder than before." He said that he was in neither of these categories and would "muddle on as before". Between the sheets Prof Geim, 51, is a Dutch national while Dr Novoselov, 36, holds British and Russian citizenship.

Both are natives of Russia and started their careers in physics there. The Nobels are valued at 10m Swedish kronor (£900,000; 1m euros; $1.5m). 2010 NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS Professor Andre Geim - born 1958 in Sochi, Russia Dr Konstantin Novoselov - born 1974 in Nizhny Tagil, Russia Geim and Novoselov share the prize this year for their work on the material graphene Graphene is a flat sheet of carbon just one atom thick with a 2D honeycomb arrangement They isolated graphene with the help of sticky tape to tear off flakes from pencil "lead" The researchers published their findings in the journal Science in October 2004 Scientists predict a wide range of practical applications for the material Graphene could one day replace silicon in transistors for electronics They first worked together in the Netherlands before moving to the UK. They were based at the University of Manchester when they published their groundbreaking research paper on graphene in October 2004. Dr Novoselov is among the youngest winners of a prize that normally goes to scientists with decades of experience.

Graphene is a form of carbon. It is a flat layer of carbon atoms tightly packed into a two-dimensional honeycomb arrangement. Because it is so thin, it is also practically transparent. As a conductor of electricity it performs as well as copper, and as a conductor of heat it outperforms all other known materials. The unusual electronic, mechanical and chemical properties of graphene at the molecular scale promise ultra-fast transistors for electronics. Some scientists have predicted that graphene could one day replace silicon - which is the current material of choice for transistors. It could also yield incredibly strong, flexible and stable materials and find applications in transparent touch screens or solar cells. Geim and Novoselov first isolated fine sheets of graphene from the graphite which is widely used in pencils. A layer of graphite 1mm thick actually consists of three million layers of graphene stacked on top of one another. Levitating frogs The layers are weakly held together and are therefore fairly simple to tear off and separate. There are surely important lessons to be drawn by the government from the Nobel Committee's decision Professor Sir Martin Rees, President, Royal Society The researchers used ordinary sticky tape to rip off thin flakes from a piece of graphite.

Then they attached the flakes to a silicon plate and used a microscope to identify the thin layers of graphene among larger fragments of graphite and carbon scraps. Professor Martin Rees, president of the UK's Royal Society commented: "It would be hard to envisage better exemplars of the value of enabling outstanding individuals to pursue 'open-ended' research projects whose outcome is unpredictable. In an apparent reference to the threatened cuts to UK science funding, he added: "There are surely important lessons to be drawn by the government from the Nobel Committee's decision. "The UK must sustain our science at a competitive level in a world where talent is mobile and other countries are advancing fast." On Monday, the Nobel Foundation announced that British scientist Robert Edwards, the man who devised the fertility treatment IVF, had been awarded this year's prize for medicine. Professor Peter Main, director of education and science at the Institute of Physics, said, "We're delighted to see two UK-based physicists take the prize.

"Following yesterday's win for Prof Edwards, there could be no clearer sign of just how much the UK punches above its international weight in a very competitive scientific world." Ten years ago, Prof Geim and Prof Sir Michael Berry from the University of Bristol were jointly awarded an Ig Nobel prize for their experiments using magnetic fields to levitate frogs. These tongue-in-cheek awards for "improbable research" have become almost as famous as the real Nobels. The Nobel prizes also cover chemistry, medicine, literature, peace and economics (more properly called the Sveriges Riksbank Prize). Laureates also receive a medal and a diploma. Konstantin Novoselov Konstantin Novoselov Nationality: Russia Executive summary: Super-thin carbon physics Russian-British physicist Konstantin Novoselov studied mesoscopic physics, a sub-discipline of condensed matter physics, under Andre Geim , and conducted post-doctoral research with Geim at the University of Manchester. Novoselov and Geim won the Nobel Prize in 2010, sharing the honor and 10 million Swedish kronor (about $1.5M) for their investigations of graphene, a monolayer of carbon atoms.

Graphene is the first member of a new class of materials now referred to as two-dimensional atomic crystals, which can be briefly described as individual atomic planes "pulled out" of bulk three-dimensional crystals. Graphene is the thinnest known material in the world � three million layers of graphene over graphene would be one millimeter in height � but it may also be the strongest material known to man, and among the most efficient conductors of electricity. It is expected to have great impact in coming electronics developments, including the next generation of integrated circuits, the microchips holding huge numbers of tiny transistors fundamental to modern electronics and telecommunications. Geim and Novoselov used surprisingly low-tech equipment to begin their work, peeling thin flakes of graphene from larger chunks of graphite � basically, pencil lead � using ordinary adhesive tape. They then sliced these flakes into their smallest components, analyzed the substance's properties, and reported their findings in a landmark paper, published in Science in 2004.

To trigger innovation in their lab, Geim and Novoselov ask their students to dedicate ten percent of their time to what they call their "Friday evening" sessions � experiments into, as Novoselov says, "crazy things that probably won�t pan out at all". From these brainstorming sessions they developed their noted "frog levitation", using magnetism to lift reptiles into the air, and gecko tape, super-strong adhesive tape based on the odd biomechanism that allows geckos to climb using adhesive tips on the microscopic hairs of their toes. Novoselov has said that their team's Nobel Prizewinning research on graphene began as an idea in one of these free-wheeling bull sessions.

University: MS Physics, Moscow Physical-Technical University (1997) University of Manchester scientists win the Nobel Prize for Physics University of Manchester scientists win the Nobel Prize for Physics Share on: LinkedIn <a href="javascript:prompt('Google')"> <div class="pp_shareusitem shareus_google" title="Share this release"> <span class="pp-visually-hidden">Share on: Google+</span> </div> </a> <a class="addthis_button" addthis:url="" href="//s7.addthis.com/js/300/addthis_widget.js#pubid=xa-4ca449677c512874"><img onmouseout="this.src='//manager.presspage.com/images/button_library_sharethis_over.gif'" onmouseover="this.src='//manager.presspage.com/images/button_library_sharethis_over.gif'" src="//manager.presspage.com/images/button_library_sharethis_over.gif" width="50" height="20" alt="Bookmark and Share" /></a> Social media EXPERT COMMENT: Neuroscientist Dr Jason Taylor on Facebook's brain-computer interface ambitions <g:plusone size="standard" count="true"></g:plusone> <script type="text/javascript

" charset="utf-8"> function LinkedInShare() { _gaq.push(['_trackSocial', 'LinkedIn', 'Share']); } </script> <script src="//platform.linkedin.com/in.js" type="text/javascript"> lang: en_US </script> <script type="IN/Share" data-url="" data-counter="right" data-showZero="true" data-onsuccess="LinkedInShare" > </script> <div> <a href="//twitter.com/share" data-count="horizontal" data-url="" data-text="University of Manchester scientists win the Nobel Prize for Physics" class="twitter-share-button">Tweet</a> </div> <div class="fb-like" send="true" data-href="" data-layout="button_count" data-action="like" data-show-faces="false" data-share="false"></div> 05 University of Manchester scientists win the Nobel Prize for Physics 6192_large.jpg Two scientists who discovered graphene at The University of Manchester have today been awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.

Professor Andre Geim and Professor Konstantin Novoselov have been awarded the highest accolade in the scientific world for their pioneering work with the world’s thinnest material. Graphene was discovered at the University in 2004. It has rapidly become one of the hottest topics in materials science and solid-state physics . Professor Novoselov, 36, known as Kostya, first worked with Professor Geim, 51, as a PhD-student in the Netherlands. He subsequently followed Geim to the United Kingdom. Both of them originally studied and began their careers as physicists in Russia. The award of the Nobel Prize means there are currently four Nobel Laureates at The University of Manchester. Professor Geim said: “This is a fantastic honour. People have been talking about graphene as a possible prize winner for a number of years so for the community in graphene research it hardly comes as a surprise. “However I personally did not expect to get this prize. I slept soundly last night because I never expected to win it. “Having won the Nobel Prize, some people sit back and stop doing anything, whereas others work so hard that they go mad in a few years.

But I will be going into the office as usual and continuing to work hard and paddle through life as usual. “I have lots of research papers to work on at the moment which all need writing up so I will be carrying on as normal. “I have a fantastic working relationship with Kostya. We worked together in Holland and then I managed to bring him to England with me. “Very often I fall out with people who don’t work hard but I have never fallen out with those who work as hard as Kostya.” Professor Konstantin Novoselov said: “I was really shocked when I heard the news and my first thought was to go to the lab and tell the team. “I didn’t know until this morning when I had a call from Stockholm. “We have had a fantastic seven years working together on this new material graphene. “The University is well suited to this style of research- we have excellent facilities. “It’s great to be a young academic at The University of Manchester and I’m grateful to everyone who has collaborated with us.” Graphene is a two-dimensional layer of carbon atoms that resembles chicken wire.

Since its discovery, Professor Geim and Dr Novoselov have published numerous research papers in prestigious journals such as Science and Nature, which have demonstrated the exquisite new physics for the material and its potential in novel applications such as ultrafast transistors just one atom thick – making it a potential successor to silicon – and sensors that can detect just a single molecule of a toxic gas. A team of materials scientists and physicists from Manchester recently reported that graphene has the potential to replace carbon fibres in high performance materials that are used to build aircraft. University of Manchester President and Vice-Chancellor Nancy Rothwell said: “This is fantastic news. We are delighted that Andre and Konstantin’s work on graphene has been recognised at the very highest level by the 2010 Nobel Prize Committee. “This is a wonderful example of a fundamental discovery based on scientific curiosity with major practical, social and economic benefits for society.” Vice-President and Dean of Engineering and Physical Sciences Professor Colin Bailey added: “This is a truly tremendous achievement, and is a testimony to the quality of research that is being carried out in Physics and more broadly across the University”. Professor David Delpy, Chief Executive, EPSRC, said: “This work represents an enormously important scientific development.

An exciting new material that has a huge range of applications and will no doubt bring significant benefits to the UK economy. "EPSRC has been supporting research by Professor Geim and his group for nearly 10 years and our latest grant has enabled the UK to retain the key academic and research staff behind this discovery, who might otherwise have been lost to foreign institutions.” Notes for editors Media enquiries and interview requests should be directed to Dan Cochlin in the University of Manchester Press Office on 0161 275 8387. Andre Geim: in praise of graphene : Nature News Andre Geim: in praise of graphene Nobel laureate explains why the carbon sheets deserved to win this year's prize. Geoff Brumfiel Andre GeimUniversity of Manchester This year's Nobel Prize in Physics went to the discoverers of the one-atom-thick sheets of carbon known as graphene. Andre Geim of the University of Manchester, UK, who shared the award with his colleague Konstantin Novoselov, tells Nature why graphene deserves the prize, and why he hasn't patented it. In one sentence, what is graphene?

Graphene is a single plane of graphite that has to be pulled out of bulk graphite to show its amazing properties. What are these properties? It's the thinnest possible material you can imagine. It also has the largest surface-to-weight ratio: with one gram of graphene you can cover several football pitches (in Manchester, you know, we measure surface area in football pitches). It's also the strongest material ever measured; it's the stiffest material we know; it's the most stretchable crystal. That's not the full list of superlatives, but it's pretty impressive. A lot of people expected you to win, but not so soon after the discovery in 2004. Were you expecting it? I didn't think it would happen this year. I was thinking about next year or maybe 2014. I slept quite soundly without much expectation. Yeah, it's good, it's good. Graphene has won, but not that much has actually been done with it yet. Do you think it was too soon? No. The prize, if you read the citation, was given for the properties of graphene; it wasn't given for expectations that have not yet been realized.

Ernest Rutherford's 1908 Nobel Prize in Chemistry wasn't given for the nuclear power station — he wouldn't have survived that long — it was given for showing how interesting atomic physics could be. I believe the Nobel prize committee did a good job. Do you think that carbon nanotubes were unfairly overlooked? It's difficult to judge; I'm a little afraid of being biased. If the prize had been given for bringing graphene to the attention of the community, then it would have been unfair to take it away from carbon nanotubes. But it was given for graphene's properties, and I think carbon nanotubes did not deliver that range of properties. Everyone knows that — in terms of physics, not applications — carbon nanotubes were not as successful as graphene. Why do you think graphene has become so popular in the physics community? I would say there are three important things about graphene. It's two-dimensional, which is the best possible number for studying fundamental physics. The second thing is the quality of graphene, which stems from its extremely strong carbon–carbon bonds. And finally, the system is also metallic. What do you think graphene will be used for first?

Two or three months ago, I was in South Korea, and I was shown a graphene roadmap, compiled by Samsung. On this roadmap were approximately 50 dots, corresponding to particular applications. One of the closest applications with a reasonable market value was a flexible touch screen. Samsung expects something within two to three years. ADVERTISEMENT You haven't yet patented graphene. Why is that? We considered patenting; we prepared a patent and it was nearly filed. Then I had an interaction with a big, multinational electronics company. I approached a guy at a conference and said, "We've got this patent coming up, would you be interested in sponsoring it over the years?" It's quite expensive to keep a patent alive for 20 years. The guy told me, "We are looking at graphene, and it might have a future in the long term. If after ten years we find it's really as good as it promises, we will put a hundred patent lawyers on it to write a hundred patents a day, and you will spend the rest of your life, and the gross domestic product of your little island, suing us." That's a direct quote. I considered this arrogant comment, and I realized how useful it was.

There was no point in patenting graphene at that stage. You need to be specific: you need to have a specific application and an industrial partner. Unfortunately, in many countries, including this one, people think that applying for a patent is an achievement. In my case it would have been a waste of taxpayers' money. Finally, are you one of those Nobel prizewinners who is going to go crazy now that you've won? As I've said before, some people stop doing science and just do crazy and awkward things; other people try to prove that they were worth it, and overload with research so much that they go crazy in a different manner; and of course, some Nobel prizewinners are actually senile by the time they get the prize. I'll try to keep my sanity as long as possible. Commenting is now closed.

Graphene pioneers bag Nobel prize - physicsworld.com physicsworld.com Photonic, plasmonic and multiphysics simulations using CST STUDIO SUITE Sponsored by CST of America Watch the video about new electromagnet-based VSMs Lake Shore Cryotronics Learn about the 8600 Series VSMs, which combine high sensitivity, rapid measurement speed and simple operation in a system capable of characterizing a broad range of materials with unprecedented ease – particularly when performing FORC measurements or measuring low-moment materials. The 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded jointly to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov "for groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene". Both physicists work at the University of Manchester in the UK. In a telephone interview with Swedish journalists minutes after the announcement, Geim said that he was answering e-mails when he found out about the award. "When I got the call, I thought 'oh shit', because it is a life-changing exercise." Graphene is a sheet of crystalline carbon just one atom thick.

Many physicists believed that a 2D crystal like graphene would always roll up rather than stand free in a planar form, but in 2004 Geim and Novoselov brought to an end years of unsuccessful attempts to isolate graphene, and were able to visualize the new crystal using a simple optical microscope. The material is very strong and an excellent conductor of heat and electricity. As such it is often described as a "wonder material" with many possible technological applications from ultra-fast transistors to DNA sequencing. When asked what is his dream application for graphene Geim replied, "That's a difficult question...I don't want to pick out any particular applications, there are so many." Ahead on intuition "[Novoselov and Geim] really deserve the prize," said Andrea Ferrari of Cambridge University, who started working on graphene shortly after its discovery. "They are way above other people in terms of their intuition and they have done key work in all the main subfields – looking at graphene’s electronic, mechanical and other properties." Ferrari also told physicsworld.com that the two physicists were very generous about sharing their discovery with other scientists. "From day one they were completely open about how to make graphene," he said.

"They trained the first generation of physicists in how to make graphene by inviting scientists to Manchester." The two researchers discovered the material by using a piece of adhesive tape to peel a single atomic layer off a piece of graphite – a process known as micromechanical cleavage or the "Scotch tape method". The pair then worked out how to make field-effect transistors using the material and discovered that electrons in the device were able to travel ballistically – that is, without being scattered – from the source to the drain electrode at room temperature. As famous as silicon In principle, ballistic transistors could operate much faster than conventional devices made of silicon and this discovery led to a flurry of research into the electronic properties of graphene that shows no signs of abating. Konstantin Novoselov In 2005 Geim and Novoselov showed that the electrons in graphene behave like relativistic particles called "Dirac fermions" that have no rest mass. The pair also observed a new "half-integer" quantum Hall effect in the material.

More recently, Geim and Novoselov have shown that graphene has the ideal optical properties to form the transparent electrodes in liquid-crystal displays (LCDs); fabricated tiny quantum dots from graphene ; and developed a new way of manufacturing sizable quantities of graphene. Just last year the pair created a new material called graphane by adding hydrogen atoms to their original discovery. Surge of interest The discovery of graphene triggered a surge of interest in the wonder material. Other researchers, for example, have found that graphene not only conducts heat very well but is also the "strongest material in the world" . At a practical level, one team of scientists has created a new kind of chemical sensor by combining graphene with DNA, while another group used the material to gain a better understanding of surface-enhanced spectroscopy . Novoselov was born in the Soviet Union in 1974 and did a PhD at the University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands before joining the University of Manchester in 2001, where he is Leverhulme Research Fellow. He is a British and Russian citizen. Born in the Soviet Union in 1958, Geim did a PhD at the Institute of Solid State Physics in Chernogolovka, Russia.

He was associate professor at the University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands before joining the University of Manchester in 2001, where he is director of the Centre for Mesoscience and Nanotechnology. He is a Dutch citizen. 'We've struck gold' Speaking to physicsworld.com in 2006 Geim said, "In the different areas that I've worked in for the last 20 years I've been searching for something big. I think with graphene at last I've found it. Before I relied on professionalism or hard work but never had the luck. Now at last I think I've been lucky and that we've struck gold." Geim is also famous for his 1997 "flying frog" experiment in which he and his colleagues in Nijmegen levitated a frog using a powerful magnet. He shared the 2000 "IgNobel" prize (with Michael Berry of the University of Bristol) for his efforts and is the first individual to win both awards. Berry told physicsworld.com, "I'm delighted that my fellow IgNobelist has been Stockholmed. I knew it was only a matter of time, and it's good they didn't make him wait decades.

Knowing him, it won't spoil his scientific creativity – he has a great deal of science left in him." The prize is the second in as many days for UK-based scientists and comes at a time when British science is under threat from funding cuts. Marshall Stoneham, president of the UK's Institute of Physics said that the physics prize shows the "strength of the British science base. It confirms at the highest level the excellence of UK physics". The Nobel prize is worth SEK10m and will be presented at a ceremony in Stockholm on 10 December. Further information

Question: Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov from Manchester University won which Nobel Prize in 2010?
Answer: PHYSICS